


Never Meant to Be

by LuciaWilt



Series: Echoes [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Magic, Marriage, Mild Sexual Content, Sexual Assault, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 00:34:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11116194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciaWilt/pseuds/LuciaWilt
Summary: She was from the country to the east of Valentia.





	Never Meant to Be

**Author's Note:**

> So this got a lot longer than I really thought it would be. While I was writing this, I found out that Fernand liked his woman THIC and I just fell in love with him even more. Just saying, this takes place pre-game and then runs up to the beginning then to the end. If you are wondering what she is doing though, she is pretty much water bending. All the other things she actually has to use spells for. Plus the DLC just killed me.

“We have a problem.” Aund said as he rushed into the room. Clive, Mathilda, and Fernand all turned towards the frantic younger man. The three famous knights of Zofia were stationed in the south east of Zofia for the time being. It was early in their time of being knights and this was more of a campaign to make them “look good”. Not that they particularly needed it. They were beloved by many, but his highness and some of his generals commanded them so they headed out.

“What is wrong Aund?” Clive, ever the kind man, guided the young one over to a chair. He was incredibly out of breath so Mathilda poured some water for Aund as well. Once he drank some he was able to speak again without choking.

“I was at the port,” Fernand had been there once or twice. “Out in the bay, there was a boat coming in. It was not one of Zofia’s or even Rigel’s. I had never seen one like that before.” Now that was interesting, Fernand thought to himself. A boat that was unrecognizable. There were only a couple of styles he could think of. “There were others around it! I think they were being attacked by pirates!” 

Now that was a big problem. All three knights tensed up upon the information they just received. Pirates had been quite a problem in the past couple of years. If they were attacking an unknown ship off the coast, that could be quite a problem; especially if it ended up being a political envoy. 

“Lead us there Aund!” Clive was the first to command. So the three of them rushed out, following the youthful knight. 

~’~

“You said you are a sell sword?” _____ asked. The calm waves of Zofian waters brushed against the boat. To her surprise, the rocking was not so bad. It was far worse off the coast of Archanea. She quite enjoyed the calm waters considering she was born and raised in the desert of Khadein. Though she was born into a noble home there and one of the students of Gotoh, she rarely left the desert. These calm waters of Zofia were much better for her stomach considering she would often get motion sickness on a ship. There was also the matter of the cooler weather. Well, cool for her. Once again growing up in a desert seemed to have distorted her sense of temperature. While she was dressed in light weight clothing, all light colors as well, she was freezing. It was quite the contrast to those on board. They were dressed similar to her and sweating. 

“Aye lass. Something like it.” The red headed man said. He was standing near the side of the boat, actually leaning on the railing looking over to the water. He did not have any “armor” on, but he was wearing a lot of leather. What she found quite intriguing was the eye patch he wore. His bright red hair was quite shaggy, though short. 

“And from Zofia? Or at least, that is where you reside right now? What were you doing in Archanea?” The man blinked for a few moments before turning to her with a grin on his unconventionally handsome face.

“And what is it to you lass? I would tell you, but I don’t believe you even know my name.”

“Well you don’t know mine.” Yet his response of her title was immediate. It even included her official title as an envoy for the Emperor. That was quite startling. So he had been collecting information in Archanea at least. That answered some of her questions. But his rather sassy attitude was a refreshing change. Most people, ever since she became close friends with Marth and his wife Caeda, were cold around her. It was completely different from how it was in Khadein and with Merric. So she smiled back at him and crossed her arms.

“Alright mister. I see how it is going to be. Well what is your name?”

“Saber.” That could not be real. She really felt as though it was some sort of code-name, a disguise. Not to be rude to ‘Saber’, but he did not seem like one to keep the best of company. However she would not comment on it. Instead, she simply curtsied, though without an actual skirt or dress. Instead, she used her slightly baggy pants which got a laugh out of him. 

“Alright lass. You do not have to act like that around me. I’m not your rich friends.” Which was true.

“I apologize, it has just been engrained in my head for so long.” They turned and both leaned against the railing. “To be honest I’m not from the wealthiest noble family. That is not uncommon in the deserts of Khadein though.” Saber looked relatively interested in what she was saying, nodding in the appropriate places. It was not like she cared much if he was listening or not though. Instead, it was simply nice to speak to someone. She had taken the quickest boat to Zofia. If she had went in one that Marth provided for her, she would not have gotten to Zofia for weeks. Because of that, she knew no one on board. However, she had taken a liking to Saber. Whether he was speaking to her because she was a woman and attractive or for some other reason, she did not really care at that point. She just wanted someone to speak to. 

They were in the middle of a conversation when Saber suddenly paused. His lips went to a thin line as he looked out over the horizon. Yet when _____ looked out, there was nothing in sight. “Ugh? Is something wrong?” She asked with genuine curiosity in her voice. What was he seeing that she could not?

“We are going to have a problem.” But before she could ask what he meant, Saber turned towards the captain at the wheel. “Yo! Pirates in bound.”

“Pirates?” She yelled. Of course there were pirates in Archanea. Hell there were pirates in the desert, though those were called bandits more often than not. Her shock came from the fact she had never faced pirates upon the sea. The few other soldiers that were on board scrambled to get ready to fight. The pirate’s ship was closing in rather quickly, her being able to see it now. 

Saber seemed pissed off about something. “These idiots are going to be no help.” She heard him say under her breath as he grabbed his own sword. It was a curved thing and sharpened to slice through the air with scary efficiency. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Pirates do not play by the rules,” The enemy ship grew closer and closer with each second. At some point, she could actually see the faces of the scruffy men. She thought that Saber was rough around the edges but these men were EXTREME. They even looked like they stank to high heavens. “These men are warriors and body guards of nobles and business owners.” It was true. While it was a public ship, they were still wealthy patrons. It made her wonder how wealthy Saber was. He had to be making quite a bit of money if he was able to ride on such a ship. 

“I see.” 

“Hopefully you are skilled with your staff.” The steel pole she had on her back was thick, about the circumference of her arm. Saber was underestimating her simply because he could not feel how heavy it truly was. It weighed, probably, half of her body weight. It amplified her magic; which she actually hoped she would not have to use. However they were not able to discuss further for the pirates ship slammed into the side of their boat, nearly sending _____ sprawling onto the ground if Saber had not grabbed her arm; keeping her standing. The other men got ready to fight as the pirates boarded them.

“Grab everything you can!” The leader, she presumed, shouted above everyone. So the fight started. Just as Saber said they obviously did not play by the rules. Many double teamed a single solider. It became glaringly obvious that they were outnumbered at that point. Even Saber who was quite talented with is blade was having some trouble. 

I really did not want to have to use this, she groaned to herself as she gripped her staff tighter. The metal grew warm in her hand as she channeled the energy within her. It was a delicate dance she did when she fought. With a push of her legs, she kicked up into a flip; slightly to the side. Water from the ocean beneath them swept up into a funnel. Luckily there were not too many pirates, considering there were only five allies which included herself and Saber, so she was able to split the stream up. When she landed, she swung the staff like a sword and the water met the chest of each pirate, pushing them off the boat and sending them crashing into the water. The fighting froze because of this, but not her. No, she turned to the captain.

“Go!” _____ shouted. It took a second for the older man to snap out of his shock, but finally he did and spun the wheel to turn away from the other ship, shouting commands to his men at the same time.

The pause continued for a bit while she stuck the staff back into its holster. Only when she looked back up did men start to move away. Saber walked over from his position on the deck. There was a bit of sweat dripping from his brow and the tiniest bit of blood she knew was not his. He was too good to have gotten hit. “And what pray tell was that?” 

“Magic.”

“I know, but I did not see a tome on you.” It was true. She did not carry a tome for that particular spell.

“Mages don’t always need tomes to use their magic.” She started as things started to get back to normal on the ship. They were finally able to make their way into port, not having wanting to bring pirates in with them. “Most mages excel in a particular energy, whether that be fire, water, earth, wind, light, or darkness.” Saber actually looked rather interested this time. “I happen to excel in water based magic. I had to in the desert. Well, I did not have to; but it made it much easier gathering water for those that needed it. Plus the bandits would be so taken a back that it would be easier to fight them.” 

“Oh.” It was all that Saber could say, seemingly so surprised by it all. Though she did find that slightly odd. He had to have seen someone use magic before? No matter. The ship quickly was readying to dock. So she went and grabbed her packs and headed back up onto deck. The Zofian port was quiet, oddly so. But she enjoyed it none the less. Back on deck she made her way over to Saber who had actually waited for her; that or he had simply not left the ship yet. It’s probably the latter, _____ laughed to herself. Either way, they walked down the plank.

But they did not get far. Right when Saber set foot onto the cobble stone walkway with _____ not too far behind, some armored man had him in chains. “Hey!”

“Watch it!” Saber barked. The man, well three men and one woman, came forwards. A blue armored knight dismounted from his horse and walked over to her.

“Are you alright m’am? You were on this ship yes?” 

“Yes! And unhand him! What is the meaning of this?” Now all four looked utterly confused, though they still did not let go of Saber who just looked angry at that point. 

“We had sighting that pirates boarded your ship and fighting ensued.”

“If he was a pirate would I be so buddy buddy with him? I’ll have you know,” ____ started. They all looked stressed now. Stressed and confused. The one that was holding Saber looked extra confused, though more angry then the rest of them. “I am a political envoy from Archanea, directly sent by the Emperor Marth!” _____ even reached into her back and pulled out the official seal that Marth had her carry when she went on missions such as this. 

“But what of this ruffian?” The white haired male asked. 

“He fought alongside me and the other warriors to get read of the pirates. I would ask of you to release Saber this instant. Those upon the ship can vouch for him.” And some of the passing passenger did just that. They thanked him and _____ for protecting them. That caused the white haired man to let go of Saber with a blush, though he still was shocked about something apparently.

“You fought?”

“And?” She turned to him. Now this was quite the greeting from Zofia’s citizens. “Of course I fought. Is that a problem?”

“I-.”

“Forgive Fernand.” Finally the woman spoke up. She was absolutely stunning. A little shorter than _____, her blonde hair went down to her hips. She had a strong face and even a stronger presence. “He can be a little daft and conservative at times.” This “Fernand” scoffed though his blush did not fade. “I apologize. This greeting got off on the wrong foot as well. I am Mathilda. This is Clive,” She motioned towards the one in the blue armor. He had a soft face; pretty with a beauty mark to boot. “This is Aund.” He looked to be the youngest in the group, probably even younger than her 21 years. His shaved head was a little convincing to age him though. “And you have met Fernand.” Said man bowed, though with a small scowl on his face.

“Milady.” 

Ah damn it. She was so pissed off. He was so handsome. Why did he have to be so chauvinistic? Though he had the decency to address her. It was better than some people she had met in the past. So she nodded in response. 

“And may I ask who you all are?”

“Ah. We are a part of the Knights of Zofia.” She heard Saber shuffle beside her. An air of shock surrounded the sell sword. When she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw the shock. Perhaps a famous group within Zofia. No matter. 

“Are you all linked to the king?”

“Directly. Well, we answer to Desaix who gets orders from the king.” Mathilda seemed like an extremely level headed woman. Good. That was what she needed. Though she was hoping for a slightly more organized greeting.

“Fantastic. I will be heading to the castle to discuss trading. If you four could lead me there.” Mathilda nodded at her suggestion. The knights knew that envoys were to be treated like royalty, which they usually were. Therefore, Clive turned, Aund a little ahead of him.

“Right this way. The rest of our horses are at the front gate. You will have to ride with someone if that is alright with you.” _____ shook her hand in front of her face while nodding. They started to walk, but she stopped and turned to Saber who was standing off to the side still.

“Ah. Saber, what are you doing? Come on.” 

Now that got quite the reaction from the scruffy red head. He laughed, a deep bellied thing. “Ay lass, I would if it was just you and you weren’t going where I know you are going. I’m not a part of that world. But perhaps I will see you sooner or later.” 

“What? But you helped me fight off those pirates. What kind of nonsense was this?” She really was not enjoying how Zofia was treating her so far. Why deny Saber something like this.

“If I may milady, he is a sell sword, nothing more.” Fernand was the one to cut in. His hand was surprisingly light upon her shoulder for something she presumed to be so chauvinistic and backwards. It peeved her that Saber did not look offended by Fernand’s words. He actually looked happy that the knight said them as he nodded in Fernand’s direction. 

“Well,” _____ walked towards the red head. Everyone was shocked when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Because they were about the same height, she felt his breath on her ear as he let a little noise out in shock. Finally though he hugged her back as well. When she pulled away, they were both smiling. “I hope that I will see you again Saber. And thank you.” With that, she walked off with the knights. 

~’~

The very first thing she noticed when they got to the horses was that there were not enough for everyone. Her face twitched as Mathilda, Aund, and Clive all got onto their horses. Fernand was the last one to get on and Mathilda’s face immediately cracked into a little smirk. “Fernand, don’t be so rude. Get her on your horse.” Now it was Fernand’s turn to blush. And blush did he. It was bright red, so red that she though he would pass out. While _____ did not know, Mathilda was well aware of Fernand’s…persuasion of fuller woman. It just so happened that _____ was fuller right where Fernand “admired”. _____ did scoff a bit, knowing, just like Fernand, that Mathilda did it on purpose. No matter. She did need a way to get to the estate she would be taking up residence in. So ignoring the hand that Fernand put down to her, she whispered a quick wind spell that shot her up in the air some. To also tease Fernand a bit, she landed in front of him on the saddle; her entire backside pressed up against his front. Even though all his armor she could practically feel the heat radiating off his body. _____ had to hide her laugh. 

“Alright. Ready to go.” Clive and Mathilda both burst out into laughter when she gripped the horn of the saddled and scooted her ass back a bit right into Fernand’s own pelvic area. She knew his back had to be as straight as a board at that point. Not that she cared. He could do with a little loosening up.

~’~

“Are you sure it is alright that I am here?” It was the first time that _____ had gone to Fernand’s house. They had been spending more and more time together since she came to Zofia. Really, it had to do with him softening his edges. Fernand’s temperament was notorious and she could see why. Quite often he would snap at someone and she would end up having to calm him down. It had only been recently that he suggested for her to have lunch at his family’s home. While she had been more than ready to do such a thing in the beginning, her nerves were getting the better of her now that she was standing in the front foyer. Fernand was from one of the wealthiest families within Zofia so the servants that shuffled around them, asking if they needed anything, was plenty. It actually was slightly overwhelming for her so she subconsciously moved closer to Fernand, feeling his body against the side of hers after a moment. There had to be a flinch from the knight as well, yet she did not see it. No, she did not see the slightly shocked look that crossed over his face.

“Yes I told you before. You are more than welcome to come here at any time.” Fernand seemed like he meant it to, so she felt a little better.

“Who is this pretty lady?” Yet their conversation went nowhere for a small voice broke the air. The servants froze as both _____ and Fernand turned to where it was. While she looked around at her eye level, Fernand immediately looked down; which she soon followed. 

Shock was the immediate response to what she found. There standing in front of them, with an out of breath servant quickly making their way over, was a small girl. She looked to be no older than 4 years old with hair the same color as Fernand’s though slightly darker. Big eyes the size of the sun flickered between the two older people; searching for answers that she knew she would get. But there was something slightly more important than a toddlers compliment to ____. Yes she enjoyed being called beautiful, who wouldn’t? But…

Who was the little girl?

The striking similarity between her and Fernand caused _____ to side eye the knight who looked a little frazzled. Oh? “And who might this be?” She asked with a little venom I her voice that she had attempted to cover. _____ could fully admit that she found Fernand extremely attractive. She could also admit that she wanted whatever it was between the two of them to go somewhere. However, if Fernand was already to be wed to someone or was ALREADY wed, then she would speed off faster than a water snake. _____ knelt down and could not cover her laugh as the little girl waddled forwards a bit more.

“Maria what are you doing?”

“I want my big brother to tutor me. It is boring without you.”

…

…

…

Big brother? Wait. “You have a sister?” _____ asked, looking back over her shoulder. He nodded, though frowning a bit. His eyes flickered up to the servant who nearly had a heart attack. That was understandable considering Fernand would have the second most say within the house aside from his father. 

“Yes. And a younger brother as well.” So Fernand was the oldest. That was…incredibly cute and incredibly surprising. Though they probably enjoyed his company very much. When Fernand wanted to be kind, he could treat you like the finest of jewels. It always made her stomach twist with heat.

“I see.”

“Are you going to marry Fernand?”

Wow! That came out of nowhere. However the small girl quickly added to her question. She was quite the little smarty. “Fernand is a prince and you look like a princess.” Well Fernand was definitely not a prince. A lords son, yes; but he was no prince. The confidence boost the young girl was giving her was helping though. And _____ thought it was precious; the idea of princes and princesses Maria still believed in.

So she made sure to get down upon her knees to speak directly with Maria, taking a liking to the young girl immediately. Fernand made a noise of shock that she would do such a thing; though he was quick to quiet himself. “He is quite charming. Though I may have to question him being a prince.” Of course it was all said in jest to get Maria going which worked perfectly. While she started to explain all the things that made her brother a princely man, _____ glanced over her shoulder and saw the deep flush that had crept over Fernand’s face. One of his hands covered his mouth as he looked away.

“Fernand! You have to ask her! She is so pretty!” Maria shouted suddenly. Her small body moved around _____ and grabbed Fernand’s hand which she placed into _____’s once the older woman stood back up. Now she was blushing as well. Well Maria sure made a persistent match maker. 

“Maria! Come here. We must get you ready for lunch.” The servant that had been so frazzled, presumably Maria’s personal attendant, finally moved in. The older woman pulled the squealing young girl away and out of sight, leaving the two adults in silence. She slipped her hand away from Fernand’s and felt her heart flutter when his fingers stretched a bit as though to keep her hand in his.

“She is right though you know.” _____ started as she turned away from Fernand. 

“And what would she be right about?”

“I am single.” 

Fernand had never been so happy that _____ was not looking at him for she would have seen the bright red blush that covered his body from head to toe. 

~’~

She had found her way to Clive and Clair’s estate. There was downtime in fighting and skirmishes across the country; presumably having heard _____’s plea for some momentary peace. She just wanted to spend some time with these people. Thankfully that was what she got. Even better, the weather was warm and sunny. She heard through some of the servants that it would probably be one of the last warm days of the year. How lucky could she get! 

They all had made their way outside to the large sitting area right by the lake. Clive and Fernand spoke of some things while Clair chattered to her. _____ was the closest to Clair’s age, though she was still 7 years older. Mathilda watched as well as _____. Though she was speaking with the young blonde, it was not like she could get many words in. Clair had a motor mouth. Yet she did quiet down when _____ said something; something that actually caused Mathilda to pause and look as well. Thankfully the men were sitting a little away from them, though they both noted how the woman quieted down. “You want to learn how to cook?”

“Clair!” ______ moved from her chair so fast she thought she would trip. Thankfully she was ale to reach the young girl and slap a hand over her mouth, making sure that she would not spill anything else. A quick glance over towards Fernand and Clive found them wide eyed at the events. “Ah you know. Girl secrets we can’t spill.” That did the trick. Both men turned away and continued to speak to one another. Once she confirmed they were not listening she turned back towards Clair. “What in the world? Don’t say that out loud.”

“But I must admit that I am interested as well. Why in the world would you want to learn how to cook? You have workers and really you are far more suited on the battlefield or in diplomatic discussions.” While she agreed with the observation, it did not mean she had to like it. _____.... She had been going through quite the emotional ride, her feelings going up and down as fast as the wind. It had taken some personal introspection but she found that she had been falling for Fernand. The man had just made her feel like she was the most special thing in the entire world; though not from the very beginning. But that was something she adored about him. He changed and evolved. Something she was not ignorant to was the fact that he was of noble birth. He was expected to marry a woman of noble birth as well, though she was in fact just that. But for some reason she had it in her mind that he would want a woman that could cook. It seemed feminine to her and she thought that Fernand would enjoy that. Therefore, she wanted to learn how to cook. 

But she was not about to tell either of them that; considering how close they were to Fernand. While _____ trusted Mathilda would be close lipped about it, Clair would immediately run and tell Fernand she started to have feelings for him. There was no way she would let that happen prematurely. So instead she just said it would be helpful to learn how to do other things. Clair was not opposed to it, though Mathilda gave her a look as though she knew she was lying. No matter. Instead, they excused themselves from the discussion. 

“Where are you going?” Fernand stopped her with a hand on her wrist. She looked back at the smile that had plastered itself over his face. Oh how she blushed. It seemed as though he did not notice it either for he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her pulse. Oh gods don’t let him feel how nervous I am, she thought to herself. There was no way he did not feel her quickening pulse. Perhaps he was just being kind and not saying anything about it. 

“I’m going to go teach her how to cook.” Clair’s voice piped in which only caused _____ to slap her own face. God damn it Clair. Fernand gave her a puzzled look with his head tilted. 

“Oh?”

“It is nothing. Just more things to learn. I will see the two of you later.” It was surprising that she actually had to physically pull her hand away. But none the less the three woman walked back into the estate. In there, Clair guided her to the kitchen. There were not many servants currently working in the room. And the ones that were all bowed or curtsied to the three of them. 

Clair was a….”good” teacher. Good meaning she was kind. Aside from that, it was quite hard to follow. Half the time Mathilda had re-explain something. However they were successfully able to do a couple different dishes; though she suspected it was only because Mathilda and Clair were there with her. She would have to continue learning and studying how to do it all. 

Which was exactly what she did. It was a day when Fernand came over to her estate early in the morning. Around mid-day, she told Fernand he should take a nap considering he seemed to be absolutely exhausted. Being right about that, Fernand excused himself to the sitting room where he did relax on one of the couches. Seeing this as her opportunity she rushed to the kitchen and started to work on one of the dishes Clair had shown her. It was pretty simple for the most part. 

What had she called it? An apple blossom tarte? It involved slicing a ton of apples rather thin and arranging them beautifully in a pie crust to look like a flower. Easy enough. Wrong. It was hard, which she was quick to find out. While she was a fighter, able to use a sword with great skill; cutting up fruit was apparently a completely different story. It seemed like every few slices she would cut a new spot on her hand or finger. By the time she had completed most of them, her hands were bandaged to the point where it was hard to use them. But she would not give up. No. She quickly arranged them all into the pie crust, did the proper arrangement of spices and sugars, and then tucked it into the fire to bake. After all of that she felt absolutely exhausted.

“Why is baking that hard?” _____ groaned while resting her head on the counter in the kitchen. Her back side was sticking out but she did not care. Most of her servants were working outside since the weather was so nice. She did not have to act so elegant at the moment. It seemed as though she really was that far out of it because she did not notice Fernand until his body was pressed up right against hers. _____ almost screamed as she shot up straight. Fernand’s arms wrapped around her waist as his chin rested against her shoulder.

“And what would the desert sparrow be baking?” 

“God damn it Fernand you scared the hell out of me!” Somehow she was able to spin around in his arms to slap his chest with her open hand; though it was only in jest. He really did scare her. The smile on his face was contagious as it spread to hers.

“Really though what are you baking?”

And here came the blush. Her face was so hot and it was not from the heat of the fire. No. She turned away from him, though his hands still brushed against her body; not giving up on his question. “Darling?” 

First came an unintelligible reply, too quick and too quiet for him to fully understand. When he had her in his arms again, he grabbed her chin lightly, causing her to HAVE to look at him. “I was baking something for you.”

“For me? Whatever for?” The question was genuine. Fernand really had no idea why she would be baking him something. It wasn’t like it was his birthday or anything along those lines. They were not celebrating anything like a promotion. 

“Because it’s,” _____ paused as Fernand held her closer. She has this beautiful shy aspect about her. “Because it’s feminine and I thought that was something you liked.”

The silence that followed was deafening. To be honest Fernand was shocked. Feminine? Where did she get the idea that he liked feminine thi-

Ohhh.

She had been talking with Clair.

“_____.” Fernand sighed. He dropped his hand from her chin to grip her tightly around the waist. Because of how close they were, she had to wrap her arms around his shoulders. “Yes I do like it when a female is feminine and docile,” It was in the culture he grew up in. Females were just meant to be like that, at least to him. “But that is not the reason why I started to enjoy your company as much as I do.” Her surprised expression allowed him to continue. “I enjoy being around you because you are YOU. I enjoy the way you speak and the way you walk, the way you fight and argue.” Finally that pulled a laugh out of her. “While I would love for you to cook for me and I do love sweets, we have servants for that. You are a political envoy, not a baker. I like you how you are.” He finished his little speech off with a kiss to the crown of her head.

~’~

The party going on in the governors estate was too much for her too handle. She had to leave, to get out of there before she suffocated. 

With the water of the lake lapping at her ankles, _____ really truly felt as though she were finally in a foreign land; though she had been in Zofia for a few months. It was disconcerting though. The nobility in Archanea and the nobility within Zofia were far different. There was a large clash of ideals; those in Zofia caring far more for their riches and spoils than those that they rule over. It made her stomach squirm if she were being honest. That was why she had to leave the estate for the time being. It just did not sit well with her. So she slipped out through the servant’s door, making sure they stayed quiet as she went. 

Once outside, she slipped her shoes off, carrying them as she ran down the hill towards the lake; making sure to keep her dress up so she would not step on it. _____ did not care to get it dirty. That was another thing. As beautiful as the country was, their ideals were rather conservative when it came to how woman dressed. You were looked down upon if you were not wearing a gown in the public of other nobility. It was Clair and Mathilda that dressed her. Not that she minded too much when it came to them, considering they had become some of her closest friends. But no matter the closeness, she still dropped her dress when she walked into the water, now about shin deep.

“What in the world are you doing?” She turned at the familiar voice, finding Fernand standing at the shore a couple of feet away from her. The man had a look of confusion riddle with amusement splashed across his face. It must have looked amusing she could give him that. So _____ walked back towards him, sledding a bit with her dress now water logged. 

“Haven’t you seen an overheated bird bathing in the water before Fernand?”

“While I say you are far more beautiful than any sparrow I have laid eyes on, I am not fool to your desert origins.” _____ stopped before him, back on dry land. They were nearly chest to chest. In those moments where he watched her, she reached both her hands up and pressed them against his broad chest. He looked dashing in the light tunic he wore. The dark brown pants and dark green coat he wore only accentuated his light hair and beautiful visage. “What is the real meaning of you splashing around in the water?” 

“Do you remember the first time that we met? Back at the harbor?” He nodded, continuing to gaze at her in the setting sun. A flush grew upon his pale face like the heating of the sun. Gods she was gorgeous. And the way her hands touched him. He longed for something more which only made his stomach warmer. “I hated you then.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hush. Let me finish.” Well that was uncalled for. “You were chauvinistic. You obviously thought that woman were not meant for the battlefield, though Mathilda rode with you. Though I am sure you still feel that way, you allowed me to fight alongside you; you grew and corrected your wrongs,” She paused with a closed eyed smile on her face. Now her hands were gripping the lapels of his coat. “Well for the most part.” Fernand could not control himself. He found one of his own larger hands cupping the side of her neck; though allowing her to continue still. “Over these months we have grown closer and I have seen past your many flaws.” It was a jest, he thought to himself. Though beautiful like a desert sparrow, she bit like a venomous python. One of the many things he found stunning about her. “Now I… I have seemed to have fallen for you.”

There it was. She stepped closer so they truly were chest to chest. Though she was a taller woman, she was still shorter than himself. When she looked up to him, he felt his breath catch. “Are you going to kiss me or not?” 

And he did. Oh how he did. Their kiss was deep and rather wet, tongues finding one another. Their breath mingled as his free hand wrapped around her waist and tugged her completely flush to his body. Her arms gripped around his shoulders in return. It was odd. For the first time in his life he did not care about what others would think. For an unmarried woman to be kissing an unmarried man in secrecy. It would cause many problems if they were caught for sure. Luckily they were relatively hidden where they were. 

After what seemed like a thousand wondrous years, they parted; but just barely. He pressed his forehead against hers while their lips still rubbed against one another; the two of them completely out of breath from how intense their kiss was. 

“Fernand.” She breathed with lack of anything else to say. The lord chuckled deep in his throat as he pressed multiple kisses to her mouth once again. That caused her to laugh and turn her face away; not stopping the onslaught of kisses for he simply peppered them all across her cheek and jaw.

“I just can’t stop kissing you.” Her squeal of pleasure did nothing to stop the kisses either.

However something did.

“Oh how precious.”

Slayde.

The two of them turned, still wrapped in each other’s arms. Fernand actually moved a bit so his body was slightly more in front of hers. A scowl was unanimous across their visages as though they were already tied together in mind and body. “A lover’s rendezvous? No. Sir Fernand’s heart is not so soft. Plus that mug.” Slayde’s slimy eyes switched from Fernand to _____. She hated the feeling of him looking at her in such a disgusting way. “What would a doll like you want with him anyways?” When Slayde took a step closer, Fernand tried to move her back some; but she was not having it. 

Instead _____ was going to take matters into her own hands. So like a fighting eagle she stepped over to him. Upon his face was a look of glee for he was completely misreading the situation. It seemed as though Fernand was as well for he called her name but it was cut short when the loud popping sound of a slap echoed across the lake.

“_____?” 

“You can spew vile things about me all you want.” Slayde’s face was to the side, a giant red mark already growing on his shocked visage. “Half the time I deserve it. But you will not say things like that to Fernand. He is a noble man; a noble knight of Zofia. Nothing like you, you slimy toad.” 

That seemed to light something within Slayde. For a moment, Fernand was worried that the man would fight back, hurt her. While she was powerful in the magic arts, especially with such a large source of water right behind her, a hand to hand fight would surely be a loss. Slayde was larger than her; both by height and bulk. However the wicked man simply tilted his head to the side with an even wickeder smirk. “Hmm. Things are getting fun. I will see you two at some later point.” He turned, starting to head back, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. _____ had gotten back to Fernand’s side and allowed his loving arms to wrap back around her. “Oh and Fernand, the party is almost over. I suggest that you head back in lest you wish to be found.”

~’~

“I feel like some fluffy cat.” _____ said as she walked into the library sitting room. With the fire raging on, Fernand’s hair looked far blonder than it usually was. She was not too surprised that he was sitting up there alone. A part of it was because she asked, and a part of it was because it was something of a less formal party happening on the first floor. That gave him enough lee-way to not go to most of the party; considering it had just started. 

“I think you look ravishing in that fur.” Was his response as she walked over to the couch he was seated upon in front of the fire place. Well it was a pretty dress. Made of fine pale blue fabric, soft to the touch, it was trimmed with white fur here and there. It just so happened to be far more than she had ever worn at one time in her life. There was no need for such things like this even during the winters in the desert. _____ was far more impressed with Fernand. He wore the same dark green jacket he had on when she confessed to him. It was a similar outfit if it not for the brown boots instead of black, and grey shirt instead of a white tunic. 

And she told him that as well. “I think you look far better in what you are wearing.” Finally she plopped down next to him on the couch, curling her feet up beneath her. He was about to say something, but she poked her toes out from underneath the dress, cutting his speech off. Yep, was going to complain about shoes on the furniture. Zofia’s noble’s hoity totty ways really could be quite a nuisance most of the time. Well Fernand was a nuisance but only in the best way possible. “Believe it or not, it was Clair AND Mathilda that yanked me in and dressed me up.”

“Mathilda as well?” Fernand’s surprise was understandable. Everyone within Zofia that knew of the lady knight’s name knew she was no traditional lady. He had to wonder why she would do such a thing to _____. Though there was going to be no complaining from him. ______ looked absolutely stunning. It nearly took his breath away seeing her in traditional Zofian winter clothing. If only that could be what she always wore fore she looked that good. 

“Yes. I don’t know what came over them. It was like a complete ambush.” 

Fernand chuckled. Now that sounded like something that Clair would do. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the chair, throwing one of his arms across the back. In that position he was able to lightly feel her hair against his fingertips. 

What was it about her that put him at such ease? He felt so relaxed in that moment that it nearly startled him back to attention. Was it the magic that coursed through her system? Was it the beat of the desert within her that he never ventured to? The exotic flair of Archanea that would never leave those deep, soulful eyes? He did not know. Perhaps he was not meant to know. Either way, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something pressing against the outside of his thigh. Fernand looked down and spotted one of her bare feet. Well, “bare” meaning without a shoe. Clair, no, Mathilda had put black stockings on _____. Clair would not be the one to do such a thing. Her childish mindset would have left _____ in white socks and pink frills. Black stockings were definitely Mathilda’s doing. 

It actually shocked him to remember that she was three years younger than him still at the youthful age of 21. With how erotic she was acting, rubbing her foot along his leg, someone could mistake her for years past what she was.

“To be honest I am a little warm though.” Oh what a little nymph. One of his fingers curled around a lock of her hair as she peaked up at him through her thick eyelashes. With his other hand, he gripped her ankle and tugged her forwards. In their new position, she was still seated outside of his thigh; but now her ass was pressed to his leg. He had her long leg in his grasp, still holding that ankle in his hand.

Two heart beats picked up in that moment. Fernand had sex before. It had been a tryst with one of the maids in his household; nothing anyone had ever found out about. _____ had something with one of the students that had been at the school. Well, “something” being they fucked, nothing else. What was happening there, with Fernand and _____, was different. It was warmer and tinted in an orange glow through the cutting winter wind. 

Fernand’s eyes slipped from hers down to her leg. He lifted her ankle, bringing it up to his mouth where he first pressed just a light kiss upon the bone. However, he noted that she fell back a bit; having to hold herself up. That flickered something within him. It kept happening. The flame, that candle ablaze, it whipped and spun. Fernand pressed an open mouth kiss on her ankle this time. With his teeth he bit the stocking and pulled it some before looking into her eyes. 

A sense of accomplishment whipped through him when he saw her face bright red. That had to be one of the first times he saw such a thing. Usually she was the one to be causing that to happen to him. There was a sense of pride in the reversal. So he continued, only to move up her ankle to her calf and then to her knee. At this point she was sprawled out onto the couch with her hair in a halo around her. “Fernand.” The gasp of his name spurred him on so he reached up and slowly started to pull her stockings down; a kiss pressed to each new inch of exposed skin. 

He knew….

What did he know? In his mind, perhaps he just knew. The heat of all of it was clouding his brain. The fire in front of them and the fire between them, it was nearly over powering. Yet somehow he was able to slowly wade his way through it as he undressed himself; then moving to undress her. The two warriors were sweating, but not from some battle.

This was not a battle. Many lovers moved in such a way, but not them. They had enough of that while out being knights. Instead there was a sense of ‘Let us go slow today and savor each and every second of it’. Those words were spoken with simple looks they shared. In those moments as he moved up to press his lips against hers, everything fell into place. All the heated looks and brushes of their hands; the innuendos and the whispers amongst the knights and the nobles, all of it was morphing into notes of pleasure.

_____ and Fernand loved every moment of it. 

~’~

“Miss, there is a man here to see you.” Annabelle knocked quietly on the door. When _____ called her in, the quiet young girl only stood in the doorway. That was not all that new though. She, though having lived with _____ for quite some time, rarely intruded more than she was allowed to. 

“A man?” There were only a few that would actually make their way out of town to come and visit her at the estate. The two main ones would be Clive and Fernand, more often than not it being Fernand. “He knows he can just come up when he gets here.” Which was true. Annabelle and everyone else knew to simply let him it. It had to be important if he was getting Annabelle to guide him up.

“So you and that dog really are that close?”

Her eyes shot up to see Slayde standing in the doorway having pushed Annabelle back out into the hall out of the office. _____ felt her haunches rise at the sight of the corrupt knight. If you could even call him a knight though. He always called Fernand a dog, but the only one she could see was the one standing in front of her. “Ah Sir Slayde, how can I help you?” She paused. Of course he would come out here and barge into her office while she was doing work. Wickedness this way comes, Slayde walked slowly over to the bookshelf and looked around. The entire time, his face held that smug smirk. It was just a serious situation at this point considering the last time she had seen him, she slapped him so hard the red mark appeared immediately. 

The probability of him coming here to get “revenge” was rather high considering he was a craven of a man. Fernand’s temper was justified when it came to Slayde. She stood as the air in the room dropped; though she did not move closer to him. If anything, she tensed up as he stepped towards her, getting closer and closer to her desk. At some point, she finally started to move backwards. There was not much room to move though for he quickly had her pinned to the wall. In that position, with him so close to her, she turned her face to the side in disgust. With how much of a heathen he was it seemed as though he thought that was an invitation.

Not once in her life had she felt so disgusted when his mouth pressed against her jaw. “Now Fernand won’t be here to interrupt us. I have had my eye on you for a while now. Trust me that dog is not so special.” His grimy little hands reached up and gripped; one on her hip and the other on her rib. Gods she felt like throwing up. How could someone disgust her so much? 

No. She can’t let him touch her any further. She had to get him away; to get him out of her estate. So with a deep breathe, she reached out with one of her hands towards the shelf beside her. There was a metal quill pen lying there, just one of the many trinkets she had collected since coming to Zofia. Not yet,_____ had to hold herself back as he licked her skin; nearly causing her to vomit right there. It had to be the perfect moment. “Oh yes, I can please you so much more than Sir Fernand ever could.” Sir was spat out like a poison. 

Now! She thought to herself. It was that moment because of what he said. Though they had grown extremely close and were on the edge of experiencing such things together, they never fully “legitimized” their relationship. They had come right up to it. Fernand’s hands had pushed her over the edge before, it just so happened it had never been his cock. So with the quill gripped tightly in her hand, she stabbed it into his shoulder; sliding right in between the metal armored plates. Slayde’s yell of pain ripped around the room but he did in fact move away from her enough so she could bolt towards the door. But she did not get far. He ripped the pen out of his body and wrapped his arms around her waist; effectively cutting off all movement.

Though she did not go down without swinging. Her legs flew up and she shook her body as much as she could as to throw him off. When that became apparently obvious it would not work, _____ shouted and screamed. 

“Annabelle! Run! Go get Fernand! Go get Clive!” She screamed in hopes that her aide would do what she commanded her to. Luckily the light sound of footsteps running out of the house could be heard. However Slayde’s arms gripped her tighter. Cloth wrapped around her arms and she realized what it was; a magic cloaking fabric. Then chains wrapped around her arms and a smaller cloth was placed over her mouth; Slayde obviously having come prepared. 

“Now hush you little bitch.” And everything went black.

~’~

How could she have let him do this? Slayde was not that strong of a warrior yet he got the drop on her back in her office. Gods she had been so stupid. It only felt worse in the twist of her stomach that she knew she let her guard down because she thought it was going to be Fernand to walk through the doors. But no. And now here she was in some dank dungeon; not the best place to wake up in. It only compounded the frustration she was feeling. 

She was on the ground, it being cold and wet against the side of her body. Slowly she moved a bit, making sure to account for everything on her body. All her limbs, check. Her clothing, wet but check. Good. That was mainly what she was worried about. The thought of Slayde doing something to her like that made her stomach heave. It was actually painful as she sat up. _____ was quick to realize the reason why. Her hands had thick metal shackles on them which were connected to the wall by an even thicker chain. Though she was in a weakened state she tested the chain. Even if she wasn’t still half way drugged she would not be able to break through those. Shit.

It was good though, that she was even able to see any of it in the first place. She looked around and saw that yes indeed, the hallway outside of the cell was torch-lit. Everything about the place that she could see, cell included, was decrepit and run down; forgotten. It made her worry, made her worry about how long she had been there. 

Was it really old and Slayde just arrived while she was passed out or had she been forgotten. If it was the second situation, then she was sure she would break down. How would anyone find her? Oh god she would be left here to die. That thought only hastened the anxiety in her heart. 

“Somebody!” The idea of Slayde still being nearby had completely left her. All she could think about was her being alone in some old dungeon. “Please anybody!” Her hands gripped the bars in front of her as she pressed her forehead against the metal. No no no she couldn’t be alone. 

Just as soon as that idea came though, it fled with the wind. Two booted feet appeared in front of her. She knew the armor on those legs. She had seen it, hated it from the beginning as well. “Oh I see that the bitch is awake and squealing.” Slayde. Now she was almost wanting to be left to die down here. Oh well. It was too late. She looked up slowly with a scowl on her face, making sure to let him know how displeased she was. He stood over her outside of the cell. As always, he wore that smug look on his face, making it seem as though he had so much more power than he truly did. She wanted to punch him; to kick him and to scream. Oh how she would beat the ever loving shit out of him when she got out of here.

“Oh? And now she goes quiet?” He goes to kneel and to reach his hand through the bars to grab her, but _____ was faster. Perhaps that was a positive of having a smaller body then her enemy. Though that surely did not make him happy. That ugly face turned down into a frown. “You aren’t in the position to refuse me. I have your life in my hands at this point. And no one is going to come and save you. Sure your little maid got away, but she had no idea which way I rode my horse.” Shit. So he had been on horseback when he came to her estate. That mean he would have been able to get a lot farther then she first speculated. Well that was rather disheartening. Instead of comment further on it, she simply scooted further and further back into the cell until she was pushed back into the far left corner. The entire time she made sure to look away from him; not give him the satisfaction of her attention. 

Yet that seemed to only make him angry for he ripped the keys to her cell out of his pocket and opened it. The door rattled and slammed as he stormed over to where she was. “You stupid bitch.” Slayde’s boot met the middle of her chest. First it was the toe then the sole which he slammed right onto her diaphragm. “You should well know that I am only keeping you alive because you are good looking. But I could kill you. I could kill you and take your body to that dog Fernand.” 

She hated that it got a reaction out of her and that he noticed. He spotted the frown and the bit of tears that collected at the corner of her eye in the dim light. Damn him. “Maybe I could just kill him though? I could kill him and bring him here to you. Then you would see who is stronger between the two of us. You will see that Fernand is the wrong choice.” His boot lowered like a predatory animal down her chest to her pelvis. There, he put more and more weight down until she was sure it would crack underneath it. It was so painful that she threw her hands to his leg and gripped on the metal armor. 

“Stop! Please!” Begging. Begging was not underneath her. As a mage, going to school with the best in the country she lived in, they never learned about anti-torture techniques. They never had the need to. Plus _____ did not see the point in “holding out” when someone was actively hurting you and you had no means to protect yourself. So she simply begged for the man to stop; which thankfully he did, though not without a laugh and another kick to the square center of her chest. 

Breathing was hard at that point so all she did was fall over and lay there in attempt to even it out. Her eye sight had thick black splotches floating around in it as she watched Slayde walk out of the cell. The man locked it and then was gone.

She had to hold on though. God she had to hold on, wait until Fernand came for her. He had to come for her. He just had to.

~’~

The next time _____ interacts with Slayde, she has no idea what day nor what time it is. All she does know is that she had been lying there on the cold wet ground for what seemed like years. Oh god she hoped it was not years. What would those back home think? What would Fernand and Clive, Mathilda and Clair think? Had they given up on her? No. She could not think like that. Especially when she heard Slayde’s distinctive and heavy feet banging their way down the hall. When he got to the door of the cell, she had her back turned towards him; careful not to show that she was in fact awake. Slayde opened the door rather loudly. It seemed as though he did not care either way if she was awake or not. Well, that or he just had no idea how to be sneaky and quiet. He made his way across the cell and knelt down beside her. 

She wanted to throw up when she felt his grimy hands on her body. One was placed on her shoulder and the other on her hip. How odd, she thought to herself as he gently shook her to wake her up. There were so many things running through her head, but the first was that she needed to act docile. While she was still being fed, she was not being fed much. Her energy was low and she would not win in a fight between her and Slayde. If she acted quiet and meek then, she would be able to think of a plan later. Everything at this point was for survival. So slowly, she turned over. “Wha…” Act like you don’t know who it is. Act like it you fool, she kept repeating in her head. Slayde’s face was partially covered in shadows; making it look like it was night though it could be the middle of the day. 

“Oh are you still tired? You look so much better when you are acting like a sweet mouse.” Ugh. She wanted to vomit. Slayde’s hand cupped her cheek and she could not do anything about it since her hands were still chained to the wall above her. Really she was splayed out in the worst way possible. Matters were only made worse since she had to take off her trousers just recently. The guards that had been keeping watch over her were not quite fond of mages it seemed. Since there were not toilets in the cell or places to go to the restroom, she had to rely on them to take her out. Therefore when no one answered her pleas to go to the restroom, she simply soiled herself there in defiance. Let us just say Slayde was not pleased with anyone that was involved in the incident, her included. That was why she was not living out her days in the cell in just her tunic and not her trousers. Those were being cleaned; Slayde having told her she would get them back at a later date, though she did not exactly believe that. 

“I am Slayde. Please let me go back to sleep.” While she was not tired, she did not want to see him. It seemed as though he was not going to have any of that though because he just let his hand trail down her neck before running over her breasts. There, he gripped them, squeezing them hard enough that she actually had to flinch in pain and turn her head away. He pinched her nipples repeatedly; enough so that she actually shouted. “Slayde please! Stop!” It really did hurt. Who knew that sleeping on cold stone would make your body so sore without actually doing any physical activates?

Slayde was relentless though. He just continued before trailing his hands further down. It was like he did not really know what to do. Instead he groped and squeezed her body. At some point he leaned over and licked at her neck. Slayde tried to kiss her, but with her head turned to the side he could not reach her mouth. Apparently he did not want to move his hands from her body because he just licked his way back down to her neck. There, he yanked her shirt up and started to kiss down her chest before taking a nipple into his mouth. She was squirming now. Mainly in pain and embarrassment and just slightly in pleasure. Not because she enjoyed who she was doing this with or what was happening, but only, and I repeat only because it was a bodily reaction. The last time she did something like this it was with Fernand and boy did she love it then. But this was a monster crawling and licking on her. His hands went further and further until they slipped into her bloomers.

“Slayde no!” Her heart was screaming in her chest as she started to actually cry. No. No no no no no. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be touching her. She felt his fingers on her, slipping between her folds.

“Oh come on. I know it is better than Fernand. He couldn’t please you like this.” Slayde pulled his hand out and licked his fingers before sticking them back in. At this point she was screaming. It was screams of pain and misery. Fernand and her…. She would just say it, he ate her out. That was as far as they went. Of course she had sex before, but it had been years ago, only when she was about 16 or 17. Slayde pushing his fingers inside of her were pinching in pain. “Ah you are so tight and I haven’t even stuck my cock in you yet.”

No.

No she was not. She was not going to put up with this. The thrashing in her body started. She threw her legs out, nearly cracking her knee in the opposite direction. Yet it had little to no effect on him, though she was just a couple of inches shorter. He was still wearing all of his armor and practically sitting on her. She was growing anxious as she was convulsing now, so violently that she was sure she would have bruises on her in the morning. Slayde was taking notice, growling to stay still. But she would do no such thing.

It was quiet at first; quiet enough that Slayde would not hear. And he did not hear her chanting a spell she remembered years ago from a tome. While her body was far more aligned with the water energy of the earth, she could still use other tomes and energies with quite a bit of efficiency. As Slayde reached down to kiss her again, he was met with a face full of flames. It was a bummer that he was able to move out of the way fast enough, for the most part. Half of his hair was singed at the tips, including both of his eyebrows and his facial hair. Even his right ear was burning and bright red, some of the skin smoking. “You bitch!” She had just breathed fire. It was an old spell, hard to learn but once you got the hang of it you were nearly unstoppable; if you had your hands free. As he stumbled away, her throat was on fire.

“You dumb bitch.” He stood over her now, which she did not care. As long as he was not touching her any longer. 

“If you fucking touch me again I’ll cut your dick off.” 

BAM

Slayde seemed to not like what she said because his steel toed boot came hurling at her face. It made impact with a loud thud, a crack, then another thud when her head hit the stone ground beneath her. Of course she groaned in response to it. Being kicked in the face with a boot was never fun, especially when it had steel coating. “You say something like that to me again and a kick is the least you will get.” He growled before turning and storming out of the cell. 

She had to get out of there.

~’~

At this point she knew that she had been in the dungeon for at least a week. Her body’s clock was just keeping up with it as much as it physically could. Not only that, but she did not smell too great. While Slayde did not let her bathe, he did come in and wipe her body down; though that did very little. She stunk pretty badly. No matter. She couldn’t stay there any longer. _____ still had high hopes that Fernand, Clive, and Mathilda would find her, don’t get her wrong. It was just that perhaps she could help them out a little. And that would entail getting out of that cell. So her plan would be enacted once Slayde or someone else came by.

Luckily she did not have to wait long for Slayde popped up. His slimy face glinted between the bars, watching her in a weird silence. She was sitting at the back wall with her body leaning against it. While they had been away, she had been storing up energy. It was something she had to do for a while because she knew she would be intentionally hurting herself as well. The spell she spoke was the same one that she used to breathe fire. However, this had a very particular target. With the finest stream of fire she could muster, she breathed onto the cuffs; long enough to where she was actually able to shatter them. In the light of the cell _____ was able to hide the fact that she had broken through her cuff links, especially if she kept her hands in her lap.

“Look what I have. I was hoping that we could go outside, or well, outside of the cell. You have been acting well the past couple of days and I wanted to reward you.” Good let your guard down you fool, she thought to herself as he opened the cell. Eight more steps. Seven. Six. Five, four, three, two, and one. Slayde stood over her, though she did not move. He physically had to grab her arm to get her to stand. “Now let us get you into your pants darling.” His breath on her naked hip made her shiver in disgust. Damn him. But she had to play along. So while she held the cuffs together in front of her, she allowed him to put her pants on her. In the process of doing so, Slayde’s disgusting mouth licked a long line up her thigh. Don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She was going to do it. She was going to. 

With him tying up her pants, it started; and she found Slayde was far faster than she first realized. Somehow he was able to avoid the kick she threw right at his face. This one was imbued with magic as well; fire once again. The entire time he had been putting on her pants she had been whispering the spell nearly silently to herself. Actually, the entire time she had been by herself in the cell since him nearly fully raping her, she had been remembering as may spells as she possibly could; no matter the element. Many of them were fire which was good. That had quite a bit of power behind it. Even luckier for her she felt the roll of thunder and lightning outside of wherever she was. That meant she would be able to use lightening magic as well once she got outside…if she did. No. She could not think about that.

As Slayde rolled away from her, running into the cell wall, she pulled the cuffs apart and swung her fist right at his face. Since he had been caught off guard by the attack her fist actually was able to make contact, throwing him off guard long enough for her to grab the ring of keys he always carried around before sprinting from the cell. Behind her, she heard the screams so angry that it shook her to her very core. The man was a craven and a fool but that did not mean he was bigger than her; physically stronger than her. If he caught up than she would be in a whole world of hurt. So she sprinted as fast as her body could carry her. Even though her feet were bare and burning from the pain of the stone beneath her, she ran and ran and ran. She ran past guards that did not really know what was happening until Slayde’s angry yells caught up to them. Luckily she was able to make her way out of the dungeon and into the main part of the old castle. Just as she had suspected it was pouring outside; dark from the clouds and the time of day. Every once and awhile as she ran to find a door, she heard and saw lightning strike out through the window.

“Where the fuck is it?” She felt like screaming. Where was the door? _____ would not stop looking. She literally could not. Not if she wanted to stay alive or at least conscious. So she continued until somehow she stumbled upon it. It seemed to be the back part of the castle but she rushed out anyways. The rain that poured down upon her was freezing and it did not help that she was wearing her indoor clothing that Slayde caught her in. Bare feet, she sprinted out into the woods that surrounded the castle. For the most part it was quite the tough run. With the nearly zero visibility, rain, and wind; she could barely run. But she did it anyways. Even if all her limbs were cut off she would crawl her way away from Slayde.

“There she is! What are you fools doing? After her!” And they had already caught up somehow. God damn Slayde, she screamed before slamming to a halt. 

It was a river. The waters were roaring rather widely. However when she looked close enough she could see that the water was not deep. It looked to only be up to her chest. Yet with how fast it was going, the cross would be difficult; dangerous. If she had more time, she would look for another way around; but it was too late. Even over the heavy rain and thunder she could hear Slayde’s men running through the wood. So without another glance she hoped in. Right away her breathing nearly stopped.

The water was frigid. I can’t think about that though! _____ sucked in quick breathes as she waded her way across. Multiple times she lost her footing and was sent under water. Every time she came back up from that she was a little further down from where she first started.

When she was about half way, there was a new sound somewhere in the forest. This time it sounded like a horse. Multiple horses. From what she could recall seeing Slayde’s men following her, none of them were on horses. Plus, these were coming from the side of the river she was heading towards.

“Damn this rain! It came out of nowhere!” 

She knew that voice. She knew that voice!

“Fernand!” _____ screamed. Gods she couldn’t the other bank of the river very well. All of it was dark shapes, just blobs that were moving about in the heavy wind. And shit! The river kept thrashing her about. It probably wasn’t the best idea to stop in the middle of it.

“Did you hear that Clive? That was _____.”

“Where was it? It sounded like it was coming from over there!” The sound of horses thudding in the mud grew closer and closer and suddenly the image of horses were as clear as day. Fernand, Mathilda, and Clive were all there just as she had suspected. He had come for her!

“_____!” Fernand screamed. It was a legitimate scream of fear and relief all wrapped into one. He hopped of his horse and threw the reins to Clive to keep still. Once off, he ran into the water to meet her half way from the shore. Before he was even five feet away from her she jumped into his arms. Their mouths found one another and did not even care they were standing in an angry river as they shared a passionate reunion kiss. 

“I missed you so much Fernand. I was so scared.” ______ admitted as she pulled away from him. It was all so honest, the things that were spilling from her mouth. She really had been utterly terrified, but just put on a strong face the entire time. Fernand’s arms tightened around her. 

“Gods I missed you as well. As soon as your maid came to us we set out. We couldn’t find you and I was losing my mind.” They started to head back to the bank of the river but Slayde’s voice stopped them.

“Damn you dog!” Both turned to find Slayde and about six of his men standing on the other side. Fernand’s immediate response was too tighten his grasp on her; as though if Slayde appeared she would be gone once again. It didn’t even matter they were still about chest deep in the water; the rain still pouring down upon them like buckets. “I’ll kill you and take her back. Fire men.” No. Oh no. They all had bows and arrows as well. No! She had to do something.

It was on instinct that she uttered the fastest fire spell she knew while slamming her hand down into the water. Because of this, a huge steam explosion was set off, cutting off vision to Slayde and his men. Fernand did not second guess it, nor Clive and Mathilda. Instead they just rushed over to Fernand’s horse, mounted it, and sped off. 

~’~

Fernand was crying the entire way back to Clive’s home. It was not heavy tears. No, this was just quiet sobs; but he was crying none the less. He felt the pain in his heart, or well, not pain but happiness. It was just so strong that it felt like pain. Gods how worried he had been looking for her. It had been nearly two weeks and they had not found her and decided to head much deeper into the forest then they first tried. It was up north from Clive’s home. They knew there was a river there so it would perhaps be a good place to cross and lose a scent. He found themselves lucky that she had escaped right at the same time. It was also slightly lucky that the rain was mingling in with his tears. He did not want to look weak to her. None the less, they finally made it back to Clive’s estate and it was still pouring down upon them. They dropped the three horses off into the stables quickly then rushed into the estate. To _____’s surprise, the entire house was still up though it seemed to be way past the proper time for bed. Many of the servants rushed up to her, hugging her and telling her how worried they were. The entire time Fernand was standing by _____’s side like if he went away, she would disappear. Not that she entirely minded though. Fernand was keeping her grounded.

As they made their way to the sitting room where the fire place was still blazing, young Clair sprinted over and slammed her body into _____’s, nearly sending the two of them sprawling out onto the floor since she was still weak from being in that cell. Clive’s sister was crying as she hugged the older woman. “I was so scared! I thought you were dead!” Her grip was tight on the mage. After a few moments she finally pulled away but only started crying harder again when she spotted _____’s face. Oh yeah, she had actually forgotten about it. And no one had commented on it, Fernand and the others included since it was so dark outside and there were only the few candles lit inside. “Oh Gods!” Clair whaled which finally got Fernand’s attention. When he spotted how swelled up the left side of her face was, he freaked. It was from when Slayde kicked her with his boot on. Seriously though, she had forgotten about it; that part actually having gone numb which really in retrospect was not good.

“He did this to you!?” Fernand’s yell caused everyone that was still around to grow quiet. 

“Yes Fernand. But that is in the past.” Fernand guided her over so she was sitting on the couch. During that he demanded Clair or anyone to go get something for it. While they did not have a cleric on hand, they did have quite a bit of herbs so it would have to do for now. Once she was sat down he knelt in between her legs on the floor. Fernand’s large hands gripped her legs before wrapping his arms around her torso and hugging her body to his face. Clive and Mathilda sat down on chairs that were near the couch but kept quiet. “Thank you Fernand. For coming to get me.” 

The shake of his shoulders actually surprised her. Yes she knew he had been crying a bit on the ride back but she had been sitting in front of him on the horse. He looked up at her as he cried and cried and cried before hiding his face in her stomach once again. “Never. Never again will I let that happen.”

She hated seeing him like this. Her strong, strong Fernand, so broken and hurt. It was up to her to put up a mask. “It is alright.” But it wasn’t. Not after what he did to her. As much as she wanted to hide it, everything; every little touch and taste was rushing back. It just shattered out of her so fast that she could not stop it. Tears over flowed and she sobbed. “Oh god Fernand.” _____ cried in agony. Mathilda was actually the first to respond for she rushed over to her side and hugged her tightly while Fernand just gripped her legs almost to the point of leaving bruises.

He had known that Slayde was a monster, but not to this point. Fernand was no idiot. He saw how terrified she had been while running through the river; he saw the tear of her shirt. He watched in that moment as she gripped her stomach while sobbing and bent over so her face was right next to his though she did not seem to do that on purpose. All the while, Mathilda rubbed circles on her back. It was alright if Clive and Mathilda were here to hear this. If it was Clair, then that would cause a problem. Well, maybe not with what he was about to say. His hands gripped either side of _____’s face and she slowly blinked her tear filled eyes open.

“Marry me. Marry me _____.” 

The silence that followed was slightly to be expected. He barely knew what he was doing himself. The only thing he knew was that he never wanted to be away from her ever again. “I don’t have a ring with me right now. But I want you to marry me. I want you to be my wife.” Her eyes were wide with shock. Mathilda and Clive had similar expressions on their faces. After the silence went on and on, he started to worry.

He could not have been misreading the signs though. They have shared intimate moments together. They have kissed and held each other; whispered words of love. While she was from a completely different land, the things they had done together seemed like universal traits of courting. Thankfully his anxiety was cut short. Her crying face broke into a smile as she kissed him. 

“It would make me the happiest woman in the world Fernand. Yes!” It would make her the happiest woman in the world? It would make him the happiest man in the world. Though even if they were not married. Just being by her side was like a dream come true. Now it would be real and solid and true. She would be his and no one else’s. 

~’~

When Clair found out that Fernand proposed to _____, she broke down into tears. They were happy tears though. Fernand was practically like her second older brother. For him to have found someone he loved so much, and that she approved of, she was over the moon in joy. So she helped quite a bit with the preparations, little as there was. Considering that _____ had all of her family and friends an entire ocean away, all of the people she had met over in Zofia would be invited. Clive’s mother was actually the one to do most of the wedding planning. That included the flowers and the food and the location and the dress. Oh the dress. That had been a whole ordeal. Since _____ was from another country and she was against wearing something very heavy, she kept putting in ideas for thinner material. But Clair’s mother was rather adamant considering the wedding would be outside as well as during the fall. However _____ was not going to give up. Eventually they agreed on a thinner material for the dress, but she was to wear a coat as well as furs. All in all, the dress “discussions” tired her out. She had never been one for decorating and planning for something like a wedding so she simply allowed the older woman to do the rest. 

Over the days and weeks that passed, the commotion at her estate was more than she had in the months that she had been living in Zofia. They decided on her estate as well since it was big enough, but also out of the way so it would be relatively private. 

Before she could even blink twice, the day of the wedding was upon her. What she was rather shocked about was that she was not even anxious. It felt so right, so right where she belonged. Dressed in a long white gown with a stunning pale green grey cape; trimmed with white fur, she felt like royalty. Clair had been the one to do her hair and place the lace veil over her head. It hung low and wide like her dress did; dragging along the ground like said white fabric. “You look like a princess.” Came Clair’s teary eyed response. Mathilda stood beside her. Both were dressed in gowns as well considering they were her bridesmaids. 

“Thank you Clair. I couldn’t have done this without you.” It was true. Clair had been such a help through the entire thing. 

“My goodness you really are radiant.” Clive said from the doorway. Since her father was also in Archanea, Clive was standing in and was going to walk her down the aisle. How odd was it going to be going home married? Either way, it was time. She allowed Clive to guide her through the hallways and to the back door. She looked through the clouded windows and saw Aund standing behind Fernand. Clive and Aund were actually Fernand’s groomsman. How lucky were they to have such kind people help them through their lives. “You ready?”

“Yes.” And she was. They walked through the door at the sound of tinkling piano music. Right when her and Fernand’s eyes met, she burst into tears. Gods how long had she been alone? How long had she been just wanting someone to accept her like Fernand did? Now she was getting it for the rest of her life. They made it down the aisle and Fernand quickly took her hand in his. The ceremony was quick and beautiful on the cloudy fall day. His vows were beautiful to the point she simply cried more. At the end, they shared a passionate kiss which had the people clapping. 

Their love as true and real and so perfect. 

~’~

Fernand, a part of him, wanted to die. In that moment it was all he was hoping for. There was also a part of him that just suspected it at this point. The smoke swirling around in the room was as thick as blood. Every time he sucked some into his lungs, darkness encroached further and further around the edge of his eyes.

So this will be it, he thought to himself while slumped against the wall. He could say quite clearly that there were many things he wished to do before he died. He wanted to grow old for one. He wanted to get married; to have children of his own. Now it all had gone up in a puff of smoke, not to be rather morose about it. 

“Is he in here?”

Oh what was that now? He was imagining _____’s voice? How nice. That felt good actually. To hear her voice in the last moments of his life. Perhaps it would not be too bad then.

“No! Check the next room!” Clive as well. He heard a shout of his name and found that Mathilda was along with them. Whatever god was looking down on him, whether that was Duma or Mila, was being incredibly kind. Three of his favorite people in the world; how kind of them. Yet his dying thoughts were cut short when the room he was in was bust open. 

“Fernand!” _____ was suddenly hovering over him. No. Why was she here? She shouldn’t be here. It was too dangerous. This was all wrong. “Fernand oh my god Fernand.” Even through the sounds of the estate burning down around them he could hear her sobs. “Oh god Fernand only if we came sooner.”

“We cannot think about that right now. We need to get him out.” Finally Fernand was able to open his eyes just a bit. She was crouching down in front of him. Having seen her use her magic in the past, he was not all that surprised to find a bubble of water around her head. She seemed to do something for Clive and Mathilda as well for they had similar water balls around them. When he felt cool relief on the skin of his face, he knew she did it for him as well. Wait. Get him out? There was something missing. Something was wrong. As Clive and _____ helped him up, Mathilda making her way back to the opening, it hit him.

“Maria and Alexander.” His brother and sister. “They are still in here. I never could find them.” He could not leave without them. But Clive was having other ideas. It seemed as though _____ was on the same page as the knights for she squeezed Fernand’s hand before pushing past Mathilda. 

“I’ll go. You two get him outside.”

No.

No. She can’t. He can’t lose her as well. Yet even with the water rushing over the burns, he could not speak. His voice was rough and scratched from the smoke. This was a nightmare. A complete nightmare. Every step she took across the room away from him felt like a thousand miles; and he could do nothing about it. As she got into the hallway, she looked at him one last time before disappearing and his heart just shattered. What if that was the last time he saw her? And nothing could be done for Clive and Mathilda quickly were able to get him out of the burning building. They stumbled into the smoky knight.

Once they were far enough away they allowed Fernand to rest on the ground. From where they were they could see the flames licking and flicking up into the inkiness of the night sky. Even the stars were blotted out by the monstrous smoke. It was like the end of the world. 

“Where is she?” Fernand was finally able to speak. It seemed as though _____ was able to sense a change in temperature on the water for when they made it outside the bubbles were released from their heads. All three of them were soaked from the shoulders up. From the smoke inhalation though, his mind was playing tricks on him. It deleted the memory of her having run off to find Maria and Alexander.

“She went to look for your siblings.” And it had deleted that too. Fernand felt his heart sinking with each moment they waited. At one point he truly believed that it was a lost cause, that all three had been lost to the fire. But a movement in the front room gave him pause. Then _____ came busting through the window, sending hot glass shattering out onto the lawn. Mathilda was the first to move for Clive was keeping Fernand sitting up on the ground. 

There was a brief moment where the two woman spoke. Of course at that distance, he could not hear anything and even his eyesight was blurry still; but he was not blind nor a fool. He saw how _____ kept her face down; saw the fat tears that slipped from her eyes as she cupped a hand over her sobbing mouth. Fernand saw how Mathilda stood straight and mirrored the look upon _____’s face while shaking her head. 

He knew that his four year old sister and five year old brother were part of the casualties and that he was the only surviving member of his household. Clive did not stop him as he began to loudly and openly sob. His closest friend actually held him close and let him weep for the loss he experienced that night. Fernand was often called cold and temperamental by many, but one of the few things that never failed to put a smile on his face was his little brother and little sister. Now they were dead. They were dead and their corpses would burn in the fire along with his fathers and the servants he grew up with. 

Perhaps the only spot of light within the night was that they did not take _____. They did not take her; did not take her after she so valiantly risked her life to look for two children that were probably already dead. They did not take her and they never would, not as long as Fernand was alive. 

~’~

_____ was no fool. She knew that Slayde’s army was making its way to the castle. After the king fell, the knights of Zofia all but disbanded. However Mathilda and Clive were able to keep a certain group of them together under the banner of the “Deliverance”. It was weakly held together, but together none the less. They had just barely held of Desaix’s men and Slayde’s army was far larger; she could clearly see them already. This was going to be a problem. 

“Milady?” Lukas pondered beside her. The two were standing out on the balcony that looked over the field.

“You do not have to call me milady Lukas. We are the same age.” The red head was kind to a fault. His quiet demeanor held something underneath it though, she could see.

He smiled. “We may be of same age, but you are the wife of a nobleman that has more standing than I do. Therefore you are above me in status.” How foolish he was. She did not care about that. Either way, she turned with him and followed him down the steps. Mathilda just walked away from Clive as Lukas walked up. _____ turned away and went towards Fernand who was standing by himself. She lightly touched his arm first, noting how tense he looked.

Sad eyes looked down at her, causing her stomach to drop.

“Fernand?”

“Slayde’s forces are here.”

“I know I was about to tell you.” She said. He reached down and grabbed the hand that had his ring. “Are you alright?” She heard Clive and Lukas finish their discussion. Clair seemed to have walked up to the other two men.

For a moment, Fernand just looked at her before he spoke up. “I want you to head east.”

“Excuse me?” She was taken aback by what he just said.

“I want you to head east. I want you to leave the country and head back to your home.” Lukas, Clive, and Clair had all walked up to them. It was quiet but she knew her eyes were filling up with tears. What was he saying? He couldn’t mean it.

“Fernand. My home is you.” _____ felt him rub the ring on her finger. 

“War is about to break out here and I will not have you wrapped up in it.” Tears started to drop from her eyes upon realization of what he was saying. “You must leave.” 

“Fernand. We will need more people-“ Lukas started to speak but Fernand cut him off.

“Shut up you back-water noble. Don’t you dare speak to my wife and put shit into her head.” It was an explosion of emotions that had been happening since his families death. Fernand had been coveting her, possessive to an almost terrifying degree. When Lukas and the others joined, it only got worse.

But she couldn’t say anything. If she did, she knew she would start to sob. All she could do was take her ring off. It hurt worse when he did not even looked shocked. “You will hold this for me. Hold it for me until we are together again; safe together again.” Knives were digging themselves into her heart as she spoke. “You will not die on me Fernand.” _____ sobbed but did not kiss him. No. They would kiss once they were together again, whether that was after the war or during it. She did not care. He seemed to have the same thought for he pressed a kiss onto the ring as she turned away and sprinted out of the room. Luckily Slayde’s forces were not too close. She was able to get to the stables without much fanfare. Mounting a horse, she galloped out of the barn and into the woods, making sure to keep the hood of her cape up and over her sobbing face. 

It was like she was leaving a part of herself back in the castle. And for some reason it felt like it was the last time she would see him.

~’~

A part of her felt bad for pushing her horse so hard that the first time she stopped it was because they physically had to. She had ridden through at least two days and two nights and was coming up on the third. From what she could tell though, she was getting close to the coast. The air had gotten cold from the ocean breeze. Plus the smell. Having lived most of her life in a desert, she would always remember the smell of the ocean. For the most part it was relaxing considering she hadn’t been back really since she first got to Zofia. Hopefully none of Slayde or Desiax’s men would be at the port since that was where she was headed. She actually hadn’t hit any on her way there, thankfully. 

She was not leaving the continent though. No she was not. She gave her ring back to Fernand on the express thought of getting it back from him once the war was over. And she would do just that. So once she was close enough to the port, she hopped off her horse and walked the rest of the way which she was sure the horse liked. The city was bustling and lively, happy looks on everyones faces; probably unaware of the war that had just started. Either way she made her way to the tavern; first putting her horse in the town stables. 

The bar was where most of the people were. Thought it was loud, she enjoyed the noise. It was naïve and innocent, what she needed at the moment. Sooner or later they would find out about Desiax and his men and the illusion would be shattered. So she sat down. 

“Are you alright m’am?” The woman that walked up to her, presumably one of the workers, looked worried. _____ did not doubt it. She probably looked the way she felt, like she had been to hell and back. She was still wearing her dirty cape and all.

“Fine. I just need something to drink. Anything strong.” The young woman was quick to get her order. Once she had it in her hands, she downed about half of it. “Fuck.” It was a whisper on her voice but it felt good none the less. During the run to the port, she had cried her eyes out. She was sure that the waitress was commenting on that as well. No matter. She just wanted to relax. She just wanted to forget about everything. She just wanted to-.

“Lass?”

She knew that voice. 

Her heart slammed into her throat so hard that she coughed. When she looked up, Saber was standing in front of her table and she just burst into tears once again. He didn’t look as though he aged a day since the last time she saw him; while she was sure she had aged fifty years in just the ride to the port. The sell sword looked around nervously but froze when she jumped up and hugged him. That seemed to calm the people around the bar that had been side eyeing him for causing a woman to cry. “Let’s get you outside.”

~’~

“So that’s what you have been up to.” They had found their way over to the dock. At this point the moon was high in the sky, illuminating everything on the planet. Somehow she had been able to explain all that had happened since she last seen him. Also surprisingly, he looked concerned; like legitimately so. It just tugged on her heart harder.

“Yeah. I had no idea this was how we would be seeing each other again.” To be honest, at some point, she thought she would never see Saber again. 

“So a war is about to break out.” The two of them were standing shoulder to shoulder since the air was growing colder with the passing season. It was odd though. She felt as though she was the season herself. She felt herself evolving and changing; becoming something new. “What are you going to do?”

“I am not leaving Zofia. I refuse to. I know it would be easy for me to, Emperor Marth and everyone back home would understand if I went home. But I can’t leave him Saber. I just can’t.” The red head nodded.

“Would you like to stay with me for the time being?” 

She had never agreed to something so fast in her life.

And just as she had suspected, the news of the war found its way to the port. People were thrown into a tizzy. And Because of it all, the pirates were able to take a strong hold of the water. Desaix and Slayde’s men were too busy terrifying the people on land that they could not bother themselves to help those at sea. Either way, she and Saber were really too tired to do something about it. Instead they spent most of their time in the tavern or just around town. Well, they spent most of their time like that until a trigger occurred.

“Celica? What a pretty name.” The young red head had recruited Saber and was happy to get another hand with _____. The two of them went along with the young woman, going on quite the little adventure as they headed to the temple of Mila. _____ was slightly anxious about such an aspect. She had never been to the temple, or any for that matter, as long as she had been on the continent. Either way, they made their way across the land, but ended up getting sidetracked along the way. 

Sidetracked to the castle where apparently the Deliverance was.

She was going to see Fernand. Once they battled through a few more men, she broke away from the group. “_____! Slow down!” Saber’s shouts were drowned out by her excitement of seeing Fernand. Busting through the doors she passed some kids that looked like teens. Some were familiar members of the Deliverance that actually recognized her, but she did not see their saddened faces. No. She just kept running and running until she saw her husband’s face.

The first one that she really ran into though was a familiar red head.

“Lukas!” The nobleman turned. He was still wearing a soft smile but it was cut short when she ran into his arms.

“_____? What are you doing here? I thought Fernand told you to leave the country.” She still could recall that conversation and how Fernand shouted at Lukas. But that was in the past. Her body was vibrating with excitement.

“You know you can’t get read of me that easily. Now where is Fernand?” She asked. 

It was only then that she saw the cracks.

It was only then that she saw the broken glass.

“Lukas?” Her hands were shaking but not from excitement now. His face was turned down in a frown. “Lukas?”

“Alm needs to speak with you Lukas.” Clive’s voice caused both of them to turn. She ran over to him and gripped his shoulders and shook violently.

“Clive where is he? Where is my husband?” _____ could not hold it back this time. Tears streamed from her eyes. Oh gods no. Clive had that same look on his face.

“He left. We know he is alive, but he left the Deliverance.”

Silence enveloped the room. Clive spotted Saber standing near the door before his eyes flickered back down to the woman in front of him. He had never seen such a shocked look on her face; not once since they met. 

“You didn’t go after him?” Her words were quite but piercingly loud in Clive’s ears.

“We could not use the man power to. After you left, we had a few losses that cut down the Deliverance to less than half.” 

Gods it couldn’t be real. Of course he had changed after his family died, but he couldn’t have left. Clive, Mathilda, and Clair were his “family”. She shouldn’t have left.

“I should have stayed. He wouldn’t have run if I stayed. Oh gods.” Her heart was breaking; so much so that she did not notice Saber walk up to her and slowly take her into his arms. In that moment the sell sword allowed her to cry. He allowed her to scream into his chest. There was no guarantee that Fernand was alive; not with Slayde presumably still out there. But for some reason, in her heart, she felt his life. He had no died; not physically anyways.

~’~

_____ had decided to head out with Celica’s little army. She had grown close to Saber over the weeks she spent with him. It was like when they were on the boat so long ago. They understood each other, two misfits in the land of Zofia. With each passing battle, a pit grew bigger and bigger in her stomach. Something seemed wrong. 

It was only near the end of their journey did she realize what it was. The battles in Duma tower had ben exhausting but it was only going to grow harder and harder from where they were. When Alm’s army met up with theirs, she saw Clive and Clair; excited to be with some of her family again. When she wondered aloud about Fernand, her world shattered.

Clair’s eyes filled with tears, even Clive’s doing the same. No.

She knew what that was.

She knew what the feeling was.

Fernand was dead.

Her husband was dead.

In that moment she wanted to die as well. 

It was only when Saber wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head into his chest did she come back to reality. She was screaming; sobbing loudly. Saber was keeping her alive.

“Cry as much as you want lass.” The two armies headed out, leaving them behind for a few moments. If Saber had not been there, she was sure she would have killed herself. Her husband was gone. Fernand was dead and she could never see him again. What cruel kind of joke was this? “Let it out.” Saber’s soft voice was like a cooling ointment on the open wound. All she could do in that moment was beg for the mercy of the gods that she could find peace. To lose a spouse was to lose a part of yourself. 

Her suspicions on that day when she left Zofia castle had been correct.

She would never see Fernand alive again. 

~’~

The war was over. Casualties were a plenty, which scarred the land with death. _____ was intimately aware of it as well. She would never forget Fernand; never be over the love that they shared. All the memories of him and the times they were together were precious to her, far more so than any jewels of the earth; any riches that she could ever obtain. 

But she found something that could begin to heal her broken soul. Saber. He was like a bandage on her heart. While he could not glue the glass pieces back together, he could wrap them up in a warmth of love she so desperately needed. They were two people that understood each other. She was a noblewoman, there was no getting around that. But she was not nearly as wealthy as most houses were. That was something she always felt guilty about with Fernand, though he told her he did not care. 

Saber needed no such thing as vast amounts of wealth. He just needed the shirt on his back and the sword at his side.

And before long, it was her at his side as well; officially. They married after the war was over. Because of the peace that Alm and Celica brought about to the continent, they were able to slow down their lives and really appreciate the passion they held. It was real and it was true. She would never completely forget Fernand and how he held her.

But she knew that the recently passed nobleman would only want happiness for her. And she found that happiness she lost in Saber. 

And that happiness stayed. 


End file.
